Method of electrically heating materials.



. PATENTED JAN. 1, 1907. 0. L. COLLINS, 2D. I

METHOD OF ELBCTRICALLY HEATING MATERIALS. APPLICATION FILED DEO.1, 1905.

STATES Paras CLAREDJQh L. tlOLLliylS, 21), OF NIAGARA FALLS, ii'illl'i' YORK.

METHQD OF ELECTRICALLY HEATING MATEQEAL$.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 1,1907.

Application tiled December 1, 1905. Serial No. 289,864

To alt whom if; may concern.-

Be it known that l, CLARENCE L. COLLINS, 2d, a citizen of the United States, residing at Niagara Falls, Niagara county, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Methods of Electrically Heatin Materials, of which the following specincation.

The invention relates to a method of electrically heating materials, particularly such are relatively poor conductors of electricity, and in this heating so, distributing the heat generated throughout the materials under treatment that a given reaction or efl'cct can be produced with great uniformity in large masses \\'itl1,wlien desired or necessary, an accurate temperature adjustment between narrow limits.

Most reactions or effects now being produced by means of resistance or incandescent furnaces must be carried on between definite limits of minimum and maximum temperature. in the simplest type of re sistance-furnace-nainely, the single cylin drical-core incandescent furnacethe heat is generated in the core or resistor, which becomes the point of highest temperature. The outer sulfa-cs of this resistor, which may be termed the surface of productive-heatdiffusion, is the surface through which by conduction, radiation, or convection the heat-- ing is transferred to the materials under treatment. The heating or supply of energy must be so regulated that the surface of pro ductive-heat diffusion does not exceed the maximum temperature at which the desired reaction oreliecttakes place.

From the surface of productive-heat diffusion there is a gradual fall in temperature outward through the furnace in the surrounding materials under treatment until at some definite distance away from the resister and entirely enveloping that body a second surface is reached which is at the minimum temperature of the reaction or effect. Betveen these two surfaces lies the Y zone of useful work, wherein the materials therefore,wasted or dissipated ener y, which becomes greater. n proportion to t e, useful energy the higher the temperature at which the reaction oreli'ect takes place and the closer the limits between the values of minimum and maximum temperatures. The outer surface of minimum. temperature may be termed the fsurface of non-productiveheat diii'usion.

1n the single-resister incandescent furnace the surface of non-productive-heat di'il'usion must necessarily be larger than the surface of productive-heat di'll'usion, as the latter e11- velops merely the resistor, whereas the former envelops not only the resistor, but also the surrounding zone of useful work where the finished product is obtained. As it can be shown that the eilicicncy of different styles of resistanceicrnaccs, other things being' equal, will vary directly with the ratio that the surface of productive-heat diffusion bears to the surface of non-productive-heat diffusion, anyii1-'-rease in this ratio will result in a smaller expenditure of energy per unit of product obtained. Furthermore, in a singleresister furnace, first, the heat generated must be transferred to the outer regions of the zone of useful, work through a definite thickness of product already formed or in process of formation, which inherently necessitates the superheating of the, region nearest the resister, and, secondly, to form the thick ness or volume in qucslicn the reaction or effeet is not produced instantaneously, but progressively throughout the mass, both features introducing a deli it s time factor for the total operation, with its attendant evil of a greater amount or wasted energy (from the surface of non-productivc-heat dilfusion) per unit of product obtained.

With a furnace oi given size this time factor, and hence the wa energy, can be decreased per unit of product obtained by increasing the rate at which the energy is supplied per unit of surface of productive-heat difl'usion;.but it this is done the thickness to which the product will form must necessarily be decreased if the surface of productiveheat diffusion is not allowed to exceed the maximum temperature which the reaction lesser volume of product formed in the furnace as a whole, and although the thermal efiiciency is increas i the labor costs are not decreased in proportion to lesser volume obtained, and we soon reach a point where it is no longer ecomimicalflo increasc f theiflrate at which ths'energ is supplied per unit of There is then a IOC ment.

is then an effort to increase the surface of" productive-heat diffusion.

If instead of being circular the same volume of resist'er is made yery flat-uh at is, very thin and wide with the same lengthwe increase the surface of productive-heat diffusion. Hence with a larger total expenditure of eneii y per unit of time we can increase the total volume of product formed in a given time without exceeding the maxi-- mum eflicicnt rate of energysupply per unit of surface of productive heat diffusion. This may possibly decrease the labor costs per unit of productobtained; but the thermal elliciency remains practically the same, as the surface of non-productiveheat diffusion would increase in the same proportion as the surface of productive-heat oiffusiou.

Theoretically with a given volume to be converted into product all contained within a given area of surface of non-productive heat diffusion the best efficiency is obtained if the heating is infinitely distributed throughout the mass under treatment, each particle to be acted upon being in contact with its particular resistor or other source of heat generation, with good heat conductivity between the two. Then with the maximum efficient or crmissible rate of supply of energy in each particular resister the action is simultaneous and instantaneous throughout the mass, with no superheating of part of the charge and with a minimum opportunity for the conduction, convection, and radiation of waste energy from the surface of non-productive-heat diffusion. In practice various improvements have been suggested over the single-resistor incandescent furnace, such its the multiple-core furnace, as also furnaces in which the core is zigzaged through t materials under treat- In all of these the object in view is both increase in the proportionthat the surface of productive-heat diffusion bears to the surface of non-productive-heat diffusion and a more uniform distribution of the heat generated through the materials under treat lnent, thus obtainin a better elliciency per unit of product obtained; but all possess to a greater or less degree difficulties of either construction or operation.

in zigzaging a core the leakage of current through the materials under treatment is in many cases serious, especially if the operation 1s carried on at high temperatures. The

path for the current through the materials is shorter and more direct than around through the core. Such leakage tends to decrease the heating effect of the core itself and if furnace in which the surface of productive heat difiusion of the resister can be increased to almost any value without increasing the,

surface of non-productive-heat diffusion. The heating can be subdivided to almost any de gree and can be uniformly and evenly distributed throughout the mass under treatment, thus allowing of the treating of large volumes of materials with large amounts of total energy without danger of exceeding the maximum temperature limit or the maximum economical rate at which the energy should be supplied per unit of surface of productive-heatdiffusion. The time required to manufacture a given volume in consequence of this distribution can he reduced to a minimum, thereby decreasing the waste energy from the surface of non-productive-heat diffusion. By increasing the surface of productiveheat diffusion of the resister its total volume is not necessarily increased, and as the total energy required to bring it to the desired temperature is therefore the samev and as greater amounts of energy can now housed in the furnace as a whole and greater volumes of product manufactured the energy which must be supplied to heat the resistor per unit of product obtained is decreased. By the greater and more uniform distribution of the energy throughout the mass the energy re- ICO quired for super-heating part of the mass under treatment is decreased per unit of product obtained, the current is given a direct path through the materials, thereby decreasing any leakage, and, finally, in accomplishing these results no dilliculties of construction or operation are introduced. The total result is a considerable decrease in the energy required toinanufacture a unit volume of product.

ically an apparatus which may be used in caring out the process.

- Figure 1 is a side view, partly in section, of v a furnace, showing the manner of arranging the materials therein. Fig. 1 is a plan View of the same; and Figs. 2, 3, and 4 are detail views showing modifications.

In heating mixtures in the type of furnace The accompanying drawings illustrate typready in powdered or granular form, are preterably first ground and then molded into blocks P of a predetermined size using'soire such bond as pitch, tar, or glue water, or,

in certain types of heating, such as in vitrifying bricks, the articles are already in convenient form for handling. These are then placed in the furnace in tiers, as shown in Fig. 1, the bed of the furnace between the electrodes E and E liaving been first filled with some good refractory material Mwhich is a poor conductor of heat and electricity and which may or may not be of the same character as the material under treatment. Thin slabs C of some material which is preferably a relatively good conductor of heat and electricity-such as graphite or carbon, or even some metal, if the temperature of the reaction is loware placed between the blocks P. By means of spacing-sticks of a given size the tiers are kept at a definite distance auart as the furnace is being loaded. When all the tiers are in, boards or sheets of iron are placed along the sides and all the spaces be tween the tiers filled in with the resistance material R and the spacing-sticks removed. The outer side walls of the furnace are then built up, and the space between. these and the tiers is completely filled in with the refractory material M. The sheets oi iron, it used along the sides of the tiers, are then reuroved and the top of the furnace covered with the material M to a sullicient thickness to give proper heat insulation. I

The resists-rs iii-this type oi ii'urn ace, if the slabs C are of high electrical conductivity, are a series of thin zones'o'i heating placed practically at right angles to the axis of the furnace or to the main direction in which the current flows. The connecting-slabs (I not only complete the electrical circuit between the zones oi heating, but if of high heat conductivity they also act as heat-distrilmters, tending to increase the surface of productiveheat di'fl'usion of the rcsisters'proper and aiding in the uniformity and rapidity with which the heat is distributed. By making the blocks P of one-half the width and the zones of heating of one-half the thickness the surface of productive-hent dill'usion can be practically doubled without increasing the total volume of the resisters or the area oi the surface of non-producLive-heat difl'usion. By still further subdivision within certain practical limits almost any degree of distribution oi the heat generated throughout he mass under treatment can-be obtained each subdivision resulting in an increase of proportionate increase in the labor costs or a decrease in the ease oi construction and operation.

An advantage possessed by this type of turns ce in addition to those mentioned is the fact that ifthe slabs C possess higher electrical conductivity than the material under treatment the latter is practically short-circuited by these slabs, and hence any change in the conductivity of the blocks P during the run does not materially alter the resistance of thil furnace a whole. The voltage regulation thcreioredoes not require a widerangc and the source of electrical supply is a simpler, less expensive style of apparatus t an with some other types of incandescent i r naces. Furthermore, the Zone of useful work lies within fixed known limits, and in tearing down the iura'nce after a run a definite separation of the product from the surrounding materials is very easily accomplished. The surrounding heat-insulator M can therefore be of some other materials than those from which the product 1 is formed without danger of contamination.

If the material under treatmcnt becomes or is liquid or plastic during any stage of the operation, the conductors and hcahdistributers between. the resisters, as shown in Fig 2, can be i ade in the form of shallow troughs with suitable iced and tap,holes at the ends beyond the cores, if desired, or, as shown in -l ig. 3, the conductors and l10fli1-(llSt1il)Ut6IS can be placed between such troughs, if it is desired to make them of some other material. For continuous operation in the heating of certain materials the tiers between the heat-- ing zones can be made in the Form of hollow spouts-through which the material passes.

The blocks P can be made of any shape and anyinun'ibcr may be placed in any arrangement between the conductors or the spaces between the slabs can be tilled in as the furnace is being loaded with the mixtures or materials under treatment. without previous forming. Similarly, the connectingslabs C may be subject to wide variation without ailecting the principle of operation. It is not even necessary that they be placed opposite each other. In fact, with the arrangement shown in Fig. 4 the heating is more uniform throughout each Zone oi resistance materiall Although l have used as illustration connccting-slabs C ot some material which possesses high electrical and high heat conductivity and although for certain classes of Work, especially where the product P becomes a relatir'cly good conductor during the furnacerun this is preferable, I do not limitmy self to such construction. The connecting-slabs C may also be made of any suitable resistance material and may possess either a 1 higher or a lower specific electrical resistance thermalcliiciency without a corresponding than the other resistance material R used in the relatively extended transverse sections. ll both are resistance materials, asin the case where one is a conductor and the other a resistance material, by proper" pro ortioning of the spacing between the tiers anc of the thic &

ness of the slabs (1, especially with the arrangement shown in Fig. 4, the generation of heat may be made absolutely uniform at all points around the product P, Whether it takes place in the transverseseetions R or the v connecting-slabs C. The connectingslabs C may even be made up of the resistance material B. its-sit by the nse'oi some suitable temporary or permanent bond. In this case the advantage new claimed over the previous known methods of embedding articles in a granular resistance-core lies in a greater ea% of construction. By forming art of the core or resistance material into slabs which can be readily handled the material or materials to be treated can be more conveniently arranged in. the furnace in tiers definitely s paced with respect to each other in all directiens, and their the spaces between tiers are afterward tilled in with the balance of the resistance material in a granular, powdered, or loose form, as described above.

What I claim is l. The process of electric heating, which consists in providing a resister comprising granular portions relatively extended transversely eieotri al resistan e, and intermediate portions e'l lower resistance, material to be heat ed being pleeed between the higluresistance portions of sam resistor, and passing an electric current through said resister.

2. The process of electric heating, which consists in providing a resistor comprising granular portions relatively extended trans versely to the path of the current and of high electrical resistance, and intermediate inteto the path of the current and of high gral portions of lowerresistanoe, material to be heated being placed between the high-resistance portions of said resister, and passing an electric current t irough sairi-resister.

3. The process of electric heating, Wiiieh consists in providing a .resister comprising granular portions relatiyely extender} transversely to the path of the current and of high electrical resistance, and intermediate portions of lower resistance, material to be heat ed being placedbetween the high-resistance portions and. in proximity to thelower-resistance portions of said resister, and passing an electric current through said resister.

l. The process of heating materials which are relatively poor conductors of electricity, which consists in providing a resister comprising granular portions of high electrical resistance, and intermediate portions of lower resistance, material to be heated being placedbetween the high-resistance portions of the resister, and passing an electric current through said resister. 5. The process oi-electric heating, which consists in providing a resisler com rising granular portions relatively extends transversely to the path of the: current and intermediate integral, solid connecting portions, the material to be heated being placed between the granular portions, and passing an electric current through said. resistor.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence oftwo Witnesses.

CLARENCE L @OLLINS, 2D. Witnesses:

CHARLES N. Corr. HENRY S. ELY. 

